Earlier this month, we praised Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) for his “serious and thoughtful attempt to hold his colleagues accountable” by calling attention to the need for an open appropriations process.  At the time, we said, “House Republicans cannot return to the ways of the Pelosi-led House, which is why we must maintain an open [...]

Never fear, your tax dollars are hard at work!  This morning, the U.S. Social Security Administration announced some big news: the most popular baby names for 2011.  Jacob topped the list for boys, while Sophia topped the list for girls.  The official press release has the glorious details:  This is the thirteenth year in a [...]

Yesterday, Victoria Nuland, a spokesperson for the Department of State, appeared to mislead reporters when responding to a question on the administration’s renewed effort to ratify the long-stalled Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). Here is the relevant exchange: QUESTION: Is this why this timing? Is this about the South China Sea dispute? MS. NULAND: [...]

Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham and COO Tim Chapman have written a piece for the Daily Caller about Congress’s earmark faltering. Some in Congress believe that miscellaneous tariff bills (MTBs) do not count as earmarks, and want to include them in legislation moving forward: “Republicans included “limited” MTBs in the earmark definition because the process [...]

Upon being elected Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH) said, “Let’s do away with the concept of ‘comprehensive’ spending bills. Let’s break them up, to encourage scrutiny, and make spending cuts easier.” Speaker Boehner also became known for his phrase “let the House work its will.” The new speaker quite rightly believed the House [...]